ENTER THE CHAMBERS

The full history of martial arts in East Asia remains shrouded in mystery and speculation. Early records are scarce, alluding to the development of hand-to-hand combat only at sporadic intervals throughout history. The oldest Asian records referencing martial arts are found in the Dhanurveda , Hindu Veda religious texts dating between 1700 BC and 1100 BC . These texts, along with various ancient paintings, depict a rich tradition of both armed and unarmed combat. The Vedic In

3 Tales of Ooka Tadasuke Afterword & Commentary by Justin Hagen OOKA THE MATCHMAKER Original Story from Don C. Seit's Monogatari Tales from Old & New Japan A fancy goods dealer named Jinshiro lived at Gorobei-cho, in the Kyobashi district of Edo. He was not well off, but thrifty, and he and his wife having no children, were able to make ends meet; further, they were liked by all who knew them. With the object of laying in a new stock of goods, Jinshiro started on a long j

Original Story from Walter Dening's Japan in Days of Yore Afterword & Commentary by Justin Hagen Some twelve years before Tokugawa Yoshimune assumed the title of Shogun (became Shogun 1716 A.D.), while he was still in Kii, it happened that one of his concubines called Sawano, being about to give birth to a child, was sent off to her mother, who lived in the village of Hirasawa to be confined there. With her Yoshimune sent a letter, a sword, and fifty ryo in money of the two

Original Story A Story of the Otokodate of Yedo from A.B. Mitford's Tales of Old Japan Afterword & Commentary by Justin Hagen At this time there lived in the province of Yamato a certain Daimyo, called Honda Dainaiki, who one day, when surrounded by several of his retainers, produced a sword, and bade them look at it and say from what smith 's workshop the blade had come. “I think this must be a Masamune blade," said one Fuwa Banzayemon “No,” said Nagoya Sanza, after exam

Original Story A Story of the Otokodate of Edo from A.B. Mitford's Tales of Old Japan Afterword & Commentary by Justin Hagen Chobei of Bandzui was the chief of the Otokodate of Edo 1 He was originally called Itaro, and was the son of a certain Ronin who lived in the country. One day, when he was only ten years of age, he went out with a playfellow to bathe in the river; and as the two were playing they quarreled over their game, and Itaro, seizing the other boy, threw him

Original Story from Asataro Miyamori's Tales of the Samurai Afterword & Commentary by Justin Hagen Matsudaira Nobutsuna was one of the ministers of the Shogun Iemitsu, next to Ieyasu, the ablest of all the Tokugawa Shoguns. A man of great sagacity, he contributed not a little to Iemitsu's wise administration. When Iemitsu was a young boy named Takechiyo, Nobutsuna who was called at that time Choshiro served him as one of his attendants and playmates. One morning when the

Original Story from A.B. Mitford's Tales of Old Japan Afterword & Commentary by Justin Hagen About two hundred and fifty years ago Ikeda Kunaishoyu was Lord of the Province of Inaba. Among his retainers were two gentlemen, named Watanabe Yukiye and Kawai Matazayemon, who were bound together by strong ties of friendship, and were in the habit of frequently visiting at one another's houses. One day Yukiye was sitting conversing with Matazayemon in the house of the latter, w

Original Story from A.B. Mitford's Tales of Old Japan Gompachi and Komurasaki i Afterword & Commentary by Justin Hagen About two hundred and thirty years ago there lived in the service of a daimyo of the province of Inaba, a young man, called Shirai Gompachi, who, when he was but sixteen years of age, had already won a name for his personal beauty and valor, and for his skill in the use of arms. Now it happened that one day a dog belonging to him fought with another dog bel

Original Story from Tales of the Samurai and Lady Hosokawa by Asatori Miyamori and Kido Okamoto Afterword & Commentary by Justin Hagen It was snowing fast. Already as far as eye could see the world was covered with a vast silvery sheet. Hill and dale, tree and field, all alike clothed in virgin white. Caring nothing for the bitter cold, but loving the beautiful, Date Masamune determined to go out to enjoy the scene. Accordingly, accompanied by a few attendants, he wended h

Original Story from A.B. Mitford's Tales of Old Japan Afterword & Commentary by Justin Hagen At the beginning of the eighteenth century there lived a daimyo, called Asano Takumi no Kami, the Lord of the castle of Ako, in the province of Harima. Now it happened that an Imperial ambassador from the Court of the Mikado, having been sent to the Shogun at Edo, Takumino Kami and another noble called Kamei Sama were appointed to receive and feast the envoy; and a high official, na

By Justin Hagen Vendettas, honor, loyalty, murder and betrayal, key components of a classic and yet little known Japanese literary genre known as jitsuroku. The word “jitsuroku” translates as “memoir” and was a genre of literature in feudal Japan that were largely fictitious or embellished stories of political scandals and revenge. These stories were largely based on true events, however through oral transmission and embellishment, these stories would soon intertwine fac

Perhaps one of the most iconic images associated with Japanese art are devilish looking masks most notably of the Hannya, Oni and Tengu. These masks are often depictions of Japanese mythological demons and continue to be used in Japanese art, pop culture and even by many tattoo artists because of their distinctly fearsome and yet appealing features. The samurai of Feudal Japan had armored masks known as Men-yoroi that were often crafted to depict the vicious facial feature

Justin Hagen, M.Ed lays out an abridged version of the classic martial arts work of the Hagakure, providing new and insightful commentary

Martial arts is a modern combat sport that focuses not only on physical fitness, but also emphasizes discipline, respect and moral uprightness. With such emphasis on morality in conjunction to physical fitness, would a school based martial arts program help decrease behavior issues in school and improve academic performance? Introduction Martial arts has been present in East Asia for thousands of years, constantly evolving and developing throughout the centuries and ult